# Wow. I get it. This is great! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 12, 2008, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-get-it-this-is-great/441104 "2008-03-12T14:02:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-get-it-this-is-great/441104/1 "2008-03-12T14:02:28Z")
There is no future. The very concept is an illusion, caused by our busy minds. There is no past, for the same reason. The only thing that really exists in the entire universe is Now. This very moment. Just me and my relationship to the present. I’ve been trying to understand this for a few months now, and I was just not getting it. I was overthinking it. That was exactly the wrong way to go about it. I needed to stop thinking and just be in the moment. It happened on the way into work this morning. I was thinking about the people I was just talking to, my day ahead, my week ahead, what happened last week, what happened… Stop. I’m walking in the rain. The air smells good. I’m here. I’m smack dab in the middle of Now. And it hit me like a ton of bricks. Utter, pure, unadulterated, **profound** joy. A happiness like I’ve never felt before. I’m truly an atheist, but this is that deep connection to God that everyone’s always going on about. It’s not about ten commandments, it’s not about hating thy gay neighbor, and it’s not about running planes into buildings. It’s about connecting to the present. Share the awesomeness. Anyone else having a great day? ---
**Author:** ![ChiefScott](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58f4c7/32.png) [@ChiefScott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChiefScott)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-get-it-this-is-great/441104/2 "2008-03-12T14:08:29Z")
I’ll get to it… sooner or later. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-get-it-this-is-great/441104/3 "2008-03-12T14:08:39Z")
Congratulations, you’ve rediscovered Buddhism. 🙂 OK, that probably came off wrong. I’ve had similar ideas, as have others. You might want to read _Watchmen_ by Alan Moore, specifically for the character of Dr. Manhattan. (Well, you almost certainly want to read _Watchmen_ because it’s a damn good novel, but Dr. Manhattan is a reason relevant to this discussion.) He views the Universe as a single crystal with no time as we know it. His view of the Universe is thematic more than chronological. It raises interesting thoughts about free will, to say the least. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-get-it-this-is-great/441104/4 "2008-03-12T14:08:44Z")
[QUOTE=tdn] Anyone else having a great day? [/QUOTE] Better now, thanks. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-get-it-this-is-great/441104/5 "2008-03-12T14:12:32Z")
> [@](#): > > Wow. I get it. This is great! > > * * * > > There is no future. The very concept is an illusion, caused by our busy minds. There is no past, for the same reason. The only thing that really exists in the entire universe is Now. This very moment. Just me and my relationship to the present. > > I’ve been trying to understand this for a few months now, and I was just not getting it. I was overthinking it. That was exactly the wrong way to go about it. I needed to stop thinking and just be in the moment. > > It happened on the way into work this morning. I was thinking about the people I was just talking to, my day ahead, my week ahead, what happened last week, what happened… Stop. I’m walking in the rain. The air smells good. I’m here. I’m smack dab in the middle of Now. > > And it hit me like a ton of bricks. Utter, pure, unadulterated, profound joy. A happiness like I’ve never felt before. I’m truly an atheist, but this is that deep connection to God that everyone’s always going on about. It’s not about ten commandments, it’s not about hating thy gay neighbor, and it’s not about running planes into buildings. It’s about connecting to the present. > > Share the awesomeness. > > Anyone else having a great day? So, there being no future, is it worth looking for a good restaurant to eat at one in that nonexistent time? ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-get-it-this-is-great/441104/6 "2008-03-12T14:14:07Z")
[QUOTE=Derleth] Congratulations, you’ve rediscovered Buddhism. 🙂 [/QUOTE] Yes, I have. 😛 **Watchmen**? I’ll need to pick that up. Right now I’m reading **The Power of Now** by Eckhart Tolle. OK, not right now. Right now I’m typing. This is fun! ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-get-it-this-is-great/441104/7 "2008-03-12T14:15:32Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] So, there being no future, is it worth looking for a good restaurant to eat at one in that nonexistent time? [/QUOTE] Naw. I found it already. Right now I’m enjoying the fact that I have this awesome and cute friend. ---
**Author:** ![Zulema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/db5fbb/32.png) [@Zulema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zulema)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-get-it-this-is-great/441104/8 "2008-03-12T14:15:51Z")
Congratulations! Now is the most wonderful moment. ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-get-it-this-is-great/441104/9 "2008-03-12T14:16:59Z")
But if there’s no future, I can’t be happy that I’m going to Vienna tomorrow with good friends and we’re going to have a blast and eat and drink until we can’t move. Bastard. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-get-it-this-is-great/441104/10 "2008-03-12T14:21:35Z")
[QUOTE=Priceguy] But if there’s no future, I can’t be happy that I’m going to Vienna tomorrow with good friends and we’re going to have a blast and eat and drink until we can’t move. Bastard. [/QUOTE] Sorry to be such a wet rag. But you’re looking forward to it right now, right? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-get-it-this-is-great/441104/11 "2008-03-12T14:39:59Z")
How long is ‘now’ ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-get-it-this-is-great/441104/12 "2008-03-12T14:43:39Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] How long is ‘now’ [/QUOTE] Good question. How long is timeless? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-get-it-this-is-great/441104/13 "2008-03-12T14:53:13Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] So, there being no future, is it worth looking for a good restaurant to eat at one in that nonexistent time? [/QUOTE] “Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so.” -Douglas Adams ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-get-it-this-is-great/441104/14 "2008-03-12T15:07:40Z")
[QUOTE=tdn] Good question. How long is timeless? [/QUOTE] It’s important, because if ‘now’ is a dimensionless point, how can anything happen at all - no duration=no time for anything to occur. Whereas if it has a fixed duration, where do things go when they fall off the end? ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-get-it-this-is-great/441104/15 "2008-03-12T15:11:00Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] How long is ‘now’ [/QUOTE] And what does it weigh? ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-get-it-this-is-great/441104/16 "2008-03-12T15:25:08Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] It’s important, because if ‘now’ is a dimensionless point, how can anything happen at all - no duration=no time for anything to occur. Whereas if it has a fixed duration, where do things go when they fall off the end? [/QUOTE] Now is where you are at this very moment. A minute from now is in the future, but in a minute it will still be now. In an hour it will still be now, just a different now. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-get-it-this-is-great/441104/17 "2008-03-12T15:26:13Z")
[QUOTE=chowder] And what does it weigh? [/QUOTE] It’s heavy, man. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-get-it-this-is-great/441104/18 "2008-03-12T15:26:39Z")
Does motion happen _between_ the different instances of ‘now’, or inside them? ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-get-it-this-is-great/441104/19 "2008-03-12T15:32:11Z")
Does ‘now’ have a retirement plan? ---
**Author:** ![Flander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8c91f0/32.png) [@Flander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flander)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-get-it-this-is-great/441104/20 "2008-03-12T15:41:40Z")
Does anyone else see the weirdness of timestamps in a thread denouncing the existence of non-current time? …oh, and your new theme song should be Right Now by Van Halen. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-get-it-this-is-great/441104.md?page=2)